Thank Ewe! where Sophy Haes shows you how to stamp some adorable sheep from a new set by The Isobel Craft Collection

And Rainy Day by R. Maria Sabina where she uses glue and water to transform a plain scene to bring you a stunning stormy day with die cut imagery.

So with a quick round up of the projects in this month's issue and a little sneak peek at the details we know you'll be running to the shops this Friday to grab your copy! You should be able to find a copy in all good craft stores across the UK or if you want yours instantly then you can download a copy from Pocketmags! If you want to make sure you never miss a copy then you can also call our friendly Customer Service team on 01684 588599 and subscribe!

· Please put 'Ready Set Stamp' followed by the theme in the subject line

· Please note that due to the number of submissions it's not possible to
contact every entrant individually - if you have not heard from us within one
week of the closing date please try again next time

Guidelines:

· Please make cards only for this gallery.

· Cards which are selected need to be posted to the Craft Stamper
offices in the UK.

· This call IS open internationally.

· Note that we do choose artwork as it arrives, so please don't wait
until the last minute to submit if your cards are ready.

· Cards will be returned at our expense, along with a complimentary copy
of the magazine in which your card features. Note this can take approx. three
months.

· Please follow both the theme AND the colour scheme when creating your
cards. You can add black, white and metallics to any of the schemes.

· Text for this article is required (don't worry - it is short!) and
should be entered into the document provided – this will be sent to you if you
are selected.

Saturday, 28 March 2015

Morning!
We have had a couple of spots open up on our blog challenge DT, so we are looking for some talented stampers to join us!
Do you fancy it? We're all very lovely.....it's a great team to be part of :)

You need to be able to:

-Commit to making two STAMPED pieces of artwork to a specified theme each month. The DT term is six months, starting with the May 2015 challenge.

-Be
able to take a good photo of your work for inclusion on the blog (this
doesn't have to be pro standard but it does need to be clear, in crisp
focus, and reasonably well lit);

-Subscribe to/be able to purchase/ at least have SEEN Craft Stamper so you know what our magazine is all about!

-Have a reasonably active blog;

-Have
an active Facebook account. The DT is run via a closed FB group, so
members must be able to access and participate in this group!

-Be prepared to promote your challenge artwork on your own blog, on Facebook and other outlets with which you have involvement;

-Be able to turn your artwork around promptly with relatively short notice (2/3 weeks).

You
get to have your art featured on our blog alongside the regular CS DT
and we will link your artwork back to your personal blog. We will also
include your blog details on our sidebar.

If you want
to be part of the Craft Stamper family then please send THREE examples
of your best stamped work, along with a link to your blog to:craftstamper.blogdt@outlook.com

The DT call will close at midnight GMT on Saturday 11th April (you only have a fortnight, so don't delay!)
Successful applicants will be notified via Email on Sunday 12th April, and be expected to jump right in and start creating for the May challenge.

Congratulations Karen! So beautiful, those colours are simply stunning! We loved it! Karen will
win a Guest Designer slot, a Winners Profile and of course her gorgeous project will be published in Craft Stamper Magazine.

As always, we have the remaining two slots in our Design Top Three to reveal, they are in no particular order)

Tuesday, 24 March 2015

Welcome to the latest in our regular series throwing the spotlight on some of the designers who create regularly for Craft Stamper. Mixed media with a quirky style and creative approach to all kinds of materials from fabric to wire and paint to book pages - it can only mean that today's spotlight falls on the highly talented and individual Trish Latimer...

Hello!

This feels weird…. A post about little old me on the blog,
rather than me writing a post about someone else!

Anyway…hello out there! I’m Trish Latimer, and I’m a
stamp-a-holic… (and a paint-a-holic as well I think!). My first project for
Craft Stamper was in the middle of 2008, and I’ve been a regular ever since. I
love sharing techniques, ideas and quirky weird stuff with all the CS readers,
so long may it continue.

I blame shopping TV for my stamping addiction! Channel
surfing on the sofa whilst at home feeding baby number 1, I stumbled across a
stamping demo…was very intrigued and the rest is history! It’s actually quite
scary thinking that was nearly 20 years ago, I certainly don’t feel old enough
to have a baby about to leave her teens!

Favourite Project #1

I chose this one because the technique involved is really
messy! I know if I’ve had a fun playtime creating if I’m so painty I need a
shower afterwards!

A: My style has evolved over the years into a messy, painty
colourful kind of affair, with quirky figures, random quotes and (of course)
plenty of stamping thrown in for good measure. I just love creating 3D
assemblages, with Art Dolls being a firm favourite right now!

A: My inspiration comes from all over the place. I think my
brain stores up all sorts of ideas and images, then turns them into projects,
which are guaranteed to pop into my brain just before I go to sleep! Luckily,
the ideas are still there in the morning when I wake up!

Favourite Project #3

I really love exploring my bonkers side, and I think this
meditating cat sums this up quite well!

Amanda won the challenge with this fabulous project, showcasing her stunning use of colour and eye for detail:

We asked Amanda a few questions all about stamping (well, we are Craft Stamper after all!)

Q: How long have you
been a stamper, and how did you get started?

A: I’ve been stamping
for about 5 years and my obsession with rubber stamps started as my 5 year old
niece, at the time, wanted to make a card for her teacher and my mum went and
bought a few card making bits and bobs to put something together with her. She
showed me the finished card and I thought “I wouldn’t mind doing that” and as
they say “the rest is history”……..

Q: What are your
favourite kinds of stamps, and do you have a favourite stamp company?

A: I have amassed a
fabulous collection of stamps over the last few years, some would say bordering
on obsessional!! I just call myself a collector! My collection of stamps I
would compare to anybody’s music collection, a little bit of this and a little
bit of that. My ultimate favourite stamps company is Stampotique I now have
over 150 of their wonderful wooden. My current go to stamps are also Carabelle
Studio, Dina Wakley and Vivalasvegas stamps.

Q: Describe your style,
are you a messy kind of stamper or a more ‘clean and simple’ kind of person?

A: I’m not really a one
style sort of stamper I enjoy producing a variety of styles, sometimes the
styles I produce depend on the time I am able to spend in my craftroom. I go
from multi layered mixed media projects that can take several days to complete
to making a clean & simple card in a short time.

Q:What kind of projects do you like creating the most?

A: My favourite project
would be one that I have an idea of what I want to do but by playing around
with different mediums I watch it evolve into something I hadn’t originally
thought of and of course it will always have some method of stamping within it.

Q: Apart from stamps,
what is the one product you wouldn’t be without when you craft?

A: Any type of paints, I
love what you can do with paint to create so many different effects and looks
to your project either straight from the pot or tube or mixed with something
else.

We
also asked Amanda to show us one of her favourite stamped creations,
and share why she likes it so much. This is the gorgeous project she has
chosen:

"This is one of my
favourites as it features stamps from my favourite stamp company, Stampotique.
It is an ATB which I love making as you have all the sides to design. All the
pieces I have used on it I collected myself from the beach." -Amanda

Congratulations on being our February Design Winner Amanda, and it was lovely to learn a little more about you!

Do YOU fancy having a winners profile all about you on the CS blog?

The
profile is part of the prize package for each Design Winner of our
challenges. All you need to do is enter a creation into the challenge,
then if you are voted Design Winner everyone will be reading all about
you before you know it!

Our current challenge 'Take A Stamp' is still open for a few more days! All the details can be found HERE.

Friday, 13 March 2015

Our
current Take It, Make It challenge is a 'Take A Stamp' challenge, which means a very broad Anything Goes theme. You must use a stamp somewhere on your creations, but apart from that, let your imagination go wild! We have had fun looking at the entries so far,
you lot are very creative!

The
DT have been having loads of fun creating some more more projects for you to
feast your eyes upon, brace yourself, there is rather a lot of eye candy on show!

The
Design Winner, voted for by our DT, will have their project
published, have a guest DT slot for an upcoming challenge, and ALSO
gets their very own winners profile here on the blog....so why
not get stamping, we'd love to see
your creation!

Friday, 6 March 2015

As
you might remember, this year our challenge is alternating between
'Take A Stamp', and 'Take A Technique'....and this month our challenge
is 'Take A Stamp'!

March Challenge:

'Anything Goes' (as long as you have used a stamp on your project somewhere!)

So....lets see how creative you lot are...get your stamps out and share your journal pages, layouts, 3D assemblage or whatever else takes your fancy!*** Sadly, quite a few entries last month did not follow the guidelines, so they could not be considered for a prize. PLEASE remember to only include just the one project in your blog posts, we just want to see the project you are entering, no others! Full guidelines can be found in the right hand sidebar.***

We
have two prizes on offer this month, the first is our sponsor
prize.This winner will be chosen randomly from all of the entries in the
challenge! The sponsor for March is

PaperArtsy
are a wonderfully innovative company, selling all things altered art!
Fresco Finish paints in a huge rainbow of colours, substrates and of course their very wide and varied range of
rubber stamps. The prize we have on offer is a set of limited edition
paints by Lin Brown, designed especially to complement her hugely
successful stamp range!

The prize also includes this fabulous stamp set, designed by PaperArtsy signature designer Darcy:

I have to say, I LOVE the stamps, and those paints!...such fabulous colours. Our randomly drawn prize winner will be a very lucky person!

Our
second winner is our Design Winner. This winner is chosen by our DT,
who all vote for their favourite design from all of the entries. This
winner will have their winning project published in Craft Stamper
Magazine, they will have a GDT slot for an upcoming challenge, and will
also feature in their very own Winners Profile blog post!

I
hope the prizes have given you all an incentive to win...... and how
about some eye candy from the DT to give you some stamping inspiration!